The U.S. Court of Appeals decision striking down Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban isn't the only recent court ruling to recognize Second Amendment rights. In a recent New Jersey case, a judge also found that the amendment protected the rights of a would-be gun buyer.
In this case, the local police denied the plaintiff a "firearm purchaser identification card" required by state law. The police argued he wasn't eligible for the card, because he'd once owned guns that had been seized and not returned as a result of a domestic incident. The plaintiff pointed out that he had agreed not to have the guns returned, and that the law blocking new purchases based on past seizures wasn't passed until three years after the incident.
In its February 27 decision, the Warren County Superior Court found that the police had violated the idea of "fundamental fairness." Because the law didn't exist at the time of the incident, the plaintiff couldn't have intended to give up "his right to bear arms as provided by the [Second Amendment]." As in the D.C. case, the story is far from over, because the state plans to appeal.
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